Halloweenie!

I love this time of year! Fall is my favorite season. Cute boots, sweaters, hot cocoa, crunchy colorful leaves and of course.... Halloween! Halloween and Christmas are tied for my favorite holiday. I love going to corn mazes, carving pumpkins, haunted houses and my favorite - candy corn. I'd thought I would share pictures of Halloween past. Enjoy!

My pumpkin is on the left. I think this was the first year I didn't injure myself.

My sister made this decoration (there were a few) for a family party last year. Pintrest!

Checking out Gardner Village - such cute Halloween decorations/props

My cute nieces and nephews out in Cali for Halloween last year. Look at that nut Hannah - hilarious!

I only wore the fake teeth for this picture. Two seconds later they were in the garbage.

Showin' some love to the armed forces.

Nerd and a fairy. Great roommate combo :)

So sometimes in Halloween stores, I put the props on and walk around...

Perfect pumpkin

Rachel wore heels to the pumpkin patch. Dirt + heels = not a good idea.

This was the year my friends wanted to do a super hero theme. By the time I found out about the theme, all the female super heroes were taken. So even though I despise Harry Potter.... he has super powers, right?

Threw this costume together in three seconds. Jazz jersey. Boozer, no less. SCARY!

Candlelit face - always a fright

EEE! EEE! EEE! That's supposed to be the sound of a wielding knife.

Haunted Forest!

The Howl 2003. 80's rocker chicks.

For those who live in Provo/Orem during 2006 - 2007, you know the parties at the Hollywood House. There is no room to move!

With Featherbone and Leah. And some random cowboy dude.

The pumpkins are about as big as she is

My werewolf cupcake I made at a RS activity. Awesome!

I can't believe my sister and bro in law trusted Michael with a poker...

Presh!

Zion National Park

I know this happened awhile ago but it's never too late to share! Over Memorial Day weekend, my friends and I spent a day at Zion National Park. I had never been before but I can tell you that I will be back! We decided to hike the Emerald Pool trail. Enjoy the pics!

My bestie and me... but we weren't leaving Zions as the sign indicates. We were just getting there!

The way Weston chose to carry the pack... We don't judge.



You can't see it....but the pool is just on the other side of the rock behind Kaleigh and me.

Photo op!

I hurt myself! I stepped on a rock funny and rolled my ankle. Kaleigh thought I was faking it and almost started to laugh. Rude! Ha ha. Luckily we had a plastic baggie and there was a cold stream right by.

Pre-ankle injury

Incredible views

                                                                The top pool. Beautiful!

We all made it safely back down... no more injuries

Little did we know at this point.... Kaleigh forgot her phone on the bench while we were waiting for the shuttle. Lucky for her, it was found and returned!

Once you find something you love, you don't ever let it go.

(Unless you're stupid)

No, I'm not talking about a guy. Or puppies. Or shoes even.

I'm talking about ilovekickboxing.

I have found something that I love to do to keep me active. I don't run. I don't swim. I don't bike. I kickbox.

I had one class on my punch card left and hadn't been in awhile because summer is so dang busy! But I showed up and I had all the instructors were asking where I'd been and asking what's new. That was a really good feeling to know that they noticed your absence. Does Golds do that? Heck no. I wasn't planning on signing up for more classes because of the cost but they worked with me on that. And let's be honest - they want to keep people like me! I show up on time, I don't complain (just under my breath) and I work hard.

(This is a shot from a video an instructor took of me - apparently I have really high roundhouse kicks! I couldn't get the video to transfer. Check it out on my FB page)

I do know that one day we will have to part ways but for right now, this is a workout I love to do and it motivates and pushes me every time. Cardio Cinema at Golds doesn't encourage me to run faster or raise the incline. ilovekickboxing encourages me to raise the bar in my fitness goals and with how hard I work. The classes are small enough that you get attention from the instructors to help out with form, technique, etc. It also give me the skills in case I get attacked.

The other day, I was unloading stuff from the drivers side of my car and needed to shut my car door but had no hands/elbows/arms to do it, so I did a front push kick with my right foot and shut it pretty hard unintentionally. I was afraid the glass was going to break! Guess I don't know my own strength :)

I love this place! I love ilovekicking!



A (not so) friendly reminder

This past Monday I was returning home from vacation in Anaheim, CA. Our plane was to board at 7:27 pm at Long Beach Airport. This is a tiny airport where you board and deboard the plane on the tarmac. It was announced the our boarding was to be a bit delayed and we ended up not boarding until 7:59 pm - over 30 minutes behind schedule.

As we were waiting to board, I kept thinking "Oh man, that's going to get us home later", "that's 30 minutes less sleep", "tomorrow morning is going to suck getting outta bed" and other negative thoughts. I just wanted to go home. 

We finally got up in the air and the captain came over the speaker informing us of why we were behind schedule (I found this kind of odd because they never do this). He told us that the flight before us was bringing home a fallen solider. They were having a military service for him on the tarmac with his family. My heart dropped and I instantly felt like such a jerk. Not twenty minutes before was I complaining about my insignificant setbacks due to a late plane that held a man that gave his life so that I may continue to enjoy the freedoms I take for granted every day. My heart goes out to this man's family and all the other families who have soldiers who have died while serving and those families who currently have loved ones currently serving.

I started to think about those brave individuals who have risked their lives for our country. Both of my grandpas served in World War II. I have a friend who served in Iraq and received a purple heart. I have a friend who is set for deployment in March. I am forever indebted to those who keep our country safe. For those who fight for our freedom. For those who try to help others obtain freedom.

During these summer months, we have several holidays that are to celebrate our troops and our country. Let's not forget those who have served and who are now serving. Not only do they need our support while out in dangerous territories but after they come home.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

No Soda May Results

Ahhhh, Soda.  We've been apart for 31 days. You've tempted me with your shiny cans, refreshing tastes and caffeine boosts. But my willpower was strong!

Ohhhh, Water. While sometimes boring, you are always good to me. But drinking you straight* for 31 days has been taking it's toll. I don't want to resent you, so I need this relationship to be flexible.

So on day 1 that the self-imposed ban is now lifted, we can reunite, Soda. And this is what I choose:

But Water, I haven't forgotten about you. I've had 32 oz of you today already and I'm sure it will continue after Diet Pepsi is finished.

* One night, I had Crystal Light Margarita mix drink (non-alcoholic) and I sip of Kaleigh's Diet Dr Pepper Cherry when I was eating popcorn at the theatre and had no other beverage and in Mesquite, I had about an inch of OJ.

Memorial Day Weekend!

T-minus 1 hour and 13 minutes until our Memorial Day road trip to Mesquite begins!

We'll be doing some of this:

And this:

(there is always that person who LOVES to splash others)

And I brought my shoes to do this:

(in case I feel so inclined)

But what I'm most looking forward is doing a lot of this:

Childhood Memory

Maybe the title should be more appropriately titled "teen and young adult memory" but there is something that just sounds so wrong about that....

Starting my freshman year (9th grade), I started to take a liking to the Worldwide Wrestling Federation (WWF or now because of an animal activist group, the WWE). My brother used to always be watching wrestling so I was sometimes forced to sit and watch it if I wanted to watch any TV. Soon I got to know the wrestlers' characters, signature moves and story lines. And my obsession with The Rock was born.

I loved The Rock. My mom gave me The Rock's autobiography for Christmas when I was 16. My walls were plastered with Rock posters. My mom said for every Rock poster I had, I had to have a picture of Jesus. Yeah. That didn't happen. I would watch every Monday Night Raw and Thursday Night Smackdown to hear The Rock's hilarious rants and to watch his awesome matches. When Monday Night Raw came to do a live show from SLC, you bet your bottom dollar I was there! I made a poster in red glitter that said "I want the Rock's Bottom" - you see, The Rock had a signature move called The Rock Bottom. My mom was none too happy with that poster. Two of my best girlfriends took me to see "The Scorpion King"  in theatres on my birthday my senior year. Awww, great friends. While The Rock's career moved forward and he was less and less on the wrestling circuit, my interest faded as well. Until John Cena. But that's another blog for another time :)

This past weekend I was dogsitting for my sister while she was out of town. She has Netflix streaming into her bedroom, so I thought it would be a great idea to fall asleep to a movie. Not ever really dealing with Netflix, I was in awe to see all the movies at my disposal. As I flipped through my options, I came to something that could make me the happiest girl in that moment - a documentary on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's career rise through wrestling and acting. Yesssss. And it was two hours. As I watched and listened to some of The Rock's best lines and wrestling career moments, I remembered back to a time when all I had to worry about was my hair, my math homework and who The Rock was wrestling that night. Ahhh, yes. Those were the days. Now it's things like health insurance, car repairs and how to get the homeless men to stop hitting on me on Trax.

If ya smmmmeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll..... what The Rock..... is cookin'.